Thursday, November 14, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Tendulkar's farewell match
Squat, visored knight, armoured in storied deeds, Uses his bat's butt-end to shift his box,Takes guard, gardens for invisible weeds,Looks up, thanks Dad, ignores two wheeling hawksNo higher in their heaven than him on turf…Buoyed by devotion's thermals, desis surf.A hundred runs, two hundred, maybe three,Will help delete the demi from their godGive us this day a valedictoryExplosion, oh, let Bombay's sacred sodBe his last proving ground, his portal,To that rare rank: Certified Immortal.Immortals can't cite age as their excuse,Swansongs must scale the summits of their pomp;To fail is to invite unhinged abuseFrom second-hand men who dimly rompThrough heroes' lives and will go starkly madWithout that brilliant youth we never had.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Dangerous pitches, and a first-ball six
They say if you were good enough to survive in the top division of
Mumbai's Kanga Memorial Cricket League, the Ranji Trophy would turn out
to be a piece of cake.
The Kanga League, a club tournament, has a storied history. Wet, uncovered pitches, matches in the rain, tall grass in the outfield, and no helmets meant the conditions favour bowlers as heavily as they do batsmen in the modern international game.
Sachin Tendulkar
made his Kanga League debut at age 11 in the G division, in 1984, for
the John Bright Cricket Club. Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar's coach, was
so confident of his abilities that he told John Bright's owners that
Tendulkar would only be available for a year.
"He will be playing higher-level cricket next year," Achrekar told Sharad Kotnis and Prakash Kelkar, who had asked the coach to allow the young batsman, who was attending summer-camp nets, to play for their club.
John Bright was originally a recreational cricket club owned by a Parsi family from Dahanu, 140km north of Bombay. The family travelled on weekends to play Kanga League matches, stopping in the suburb of Borivali on their way in for an update on the status of weather in South Bombay. It was on one of these stopovers in 1983 that Kotnis and Kelkar bought the club from the Parsi family with the idea of promoting young cricketers who could then progress to play for Kotnis' other club, Shivaji Park Youngsters, which played in the higher division. The new John Bright was restructured to feature six to seven senior cricketers and four or five young players, who the seniors could mentor.
"The Kanga League was dangerous, but that was a test for these boys," says Kelkar, an administrator with the Mumbai Cricket Association for more than 30 years. "Not everyone was selected to play, these were special boys. These guys played with tennis or cork balls, so their movement of feet was so good, they become strong to play [with the] season ball."
The 11-year-old Tendulkar showed remarkable ability to defend on those
treacherous pitches, according to Nadeem Memon, one of the senior
players in the side.
For the next three years, Tendulkar batted and batted and batted. There were no rest days. He rode pillion on Achrekar's scooter from ground to ground, and team to team. From John Bright CC, he graduated to Sassanian CC, then to Shivaji Park Youngsters, changing schools to concentrate on cricket, giving bowlers false hope with his small frame, but then flattening them with powerful assaults. Whether it was the Kanga League, Police Shield, Purshottam Shield, Times Shield, age-group cricket or school tournaments, Tendulkar collected runs like a well-oiled machine.
In a Purshottam Shield match in 1987, he scored an outstanding 70-odd against a Cricket Club of India side that featured Madhav Apte, the former India batsman who was the president of the CCI at the time. The CCI was already following Tendulkar's rise, especially after he hit five consecutive hundreds in the Giles Shield. His inclusion in the premier club was discussed by the club's cricket committee.
"In the case of Tendulkar, it was very clear that he would play for a club Ramakant Achrekar wanted him to play for," says Hemant Kenkre, Tendulkar's first captain at CCI. "If he should play or not play for CCI was eventually Achrekar's decision."
Tendulkar had a lot to gain at the club. Firstly, CCI was an A-division club with direct entry to the top divisions of all the Mumbai tournaments. Secondly, inclusion by the CCI would have allowed Tendulkar to develop his game further in international-class facilities at the Brabourne Stadium. The pitches at Brabourne were carefully curated, unlike the up-and-down ones in the maidans, which, although they tested the batsmen, were also thought to be the source of faulty techniques among players. Thirdly, the club would allow Tendulkar access to mentors such as Dilip Sardesai, Hanumant Singh and Milind Rege.
But Tendulkar needed to overcome a technicality to play for the club. Minors - under the age of 18 - were not allowed into the main clubhouse at CCI that housed the player dressing rooms in the '80s. Tendulkar was 15 and thanks to Apte, an exception was made to allow him into the clubhouse. The ruling is still in place and Tendulkar is the only cricketer for whom an exception was made.
The bowler, Sharad Rao, was known to be a difficult medium pacer, who played first-class cricket for Karnataka. Kenkre remembers how that first delivery was lofted straight over Rao's head for a six with so much ease it was hard to believe it came off a 15-year-old's bat. It was as straight as it could have been, "in the line of the stumps".
In another match later that season, Kenkre remembers the team was struggling and messages were sent out to Tendulkar to not do anything stupid. Tendulkar defended till lunch but asked permission to play naturally in the afternoon session as he was uncomfortable playing the waiting game. In the three overs after lunch, he changed the complexion of the match with a calculated attack on the bowlers. His aggression rubbed off on the batsmen who followed.
"He turned the Bombay style of batting on its head," says Kenkre. "Before that, if you lofted the ball as a batsman, the coaches used to get upset about why you want to take the risk. But that is the beauty of Achrekar. He allowed Tendulkar to play that way."
As early as his first season with CCI, there were many across Bombay who believed Tendulkar would play for India. As Kenkre puts it, "Tendulkar could have played for any unknown club and still made it big, he was so good. From the first day, it was very clear that this guy was destined for greatness. Unless he messed it up himself."
The Kanga League, a club tournament, has a storied history. Wet, uncovered pitches, matches in the rain, tall grass in the outfield, and no helmets meant the conditions favour bowlers as heavily as they do batsmen in the modern international game.
Tendulkar in 1988: a run-ogre © Unknown
"He will be playing higher-level cricket next year," Achrekar told Sharad Kotnis and Prakash Kelkar, who had asked the coach to allow the young batsman, who was attending summer-camp nets, to play for their club.
John Bright was originally a recreational cricket club owned by a Parsi family from Dahanu, 140km north of Bombay. The family travelled on weekends to play Kanga League matches, stopping in the suburb of Borivali on their way in for an update on the status of weather in South Bombay. It was on one of these stopovers in 1983 that Kotnis and Kelkar bought the club from the Parsi family with the idea of promoting young cricketers who could then progress to play for Kotnis' other club, Shivaji Park Youngsters, which played in the higher division. The new John Bright was restructured to feature six to seven senior cricketers and four or five young players, who the seniors could mentor.
"The Kanga League was dangerous, but that was a test for these boys," says Kelkar, an administrator with the Mumbai Cricket Association for more than 30 years. "Not everyone was selected to play, these were special boys. These guys played with tennis or cork balls, so their movement of feet was so good, they become strong to play [with the] season ball."
The 11-year-old Tendulkar showed remarkable ability to defend on those
treacherous pitches, according to Nadeem Memon, one of the senior
players in the side.
For the next three years, Tendulkar batted and batted and batted. There were no rest days. He rode pillion on Achrekar's scooter from ground to ground, and team to team. From John Bright CC, he graduated to Sassanian CC, then to Shivaji Park Youngsters, changing schools to concentrate on cricket, giving bowlers false hope with his small frame, but then flattening them with powerful assaults. Whether it was the Kanga League, Police Shield, Purshottam Shield, Times Shield, age-group cricket or school tournaments, Tendulkar collected runs like a well-oiled machine.
In a Purshottam Shield match in 1987, he scored an outstanding 70-odd against a Cricket Club of India side that featured Madhav Apte, the former India batsman who was the president of the CCI at the time. The CCI was already following Tendulkar's rise, especially after he hit five consecutive hundreds in the Giles Shield. His inclusion in the premier club was discussed by the club's cricket committee.
"In the case of Tendulkar, it was very clear that he would play for a club Ramakant Achrekar wanted him to play for," says Hemant Kenkre, Tendulkar's first captain at CCI. "If he should play or not play for CCI was eventually Achrekar's decision."
Tendulkar had a lot to gain at the club. Firstly, CCI was an A-division club with direct entry to the top divisions of all the Mumbai tournaments. Secondly, inclusion by the CCI would have allowed Tendulkar to develop his game further in international-class facilities at the Brabourne Stadium. The pitches at Brabourne were carefully curated, unlike the up-and-down ones in the maidans, which, although they tested the batsmen, were also thought to be the source of faulty techniques among players. Thirdly, the club would allow Tendulkar access to mentors such as Dilip Sardesai, Hanumant Singh and Milind Rege.
But Tendulkar needed to overcome a technicality to play for the club. Minors - under the age of 18 - were not allowed into the main clubhouse at CCI that housed the player dressing rooms in the '80s. Tendulkar was 15 and thanks to Apte, an exception was made to allow him into the clubhouse. The ruling is still in place and Tendulkar is the only cricketer for whom an exception was made.
“
"He turned the Bombay style of batting on its head"
One of Tendulkar's first captains, Hemant Kenkre
In July 1988, Tendulkar was included in the squad for a match against
Karnatak Sports Association for CCI's Kanga League match at Cross
maidan. He walked in at No. 4, as Achrekar had insisted. At the other
end was Kenkre, CCI's captain for the match, and he knew that in the
Kanga League "the mud hits your face before the ball does".
One of Tendulkar's first captains, Hemant Kenkre
The bowler, Sharad Rao, was known to be a difficult medium pacer, who played first-class cricket for Karnataka. Kenkre remembers how that first delivery was lofted straight over Rao's head for a six with so much ease it was hard to believe it came off a 15-year-old's bat. It was as straight as it could have been, "in the line of the stumps".
In another match later that season, Kenkre remembers the team was struggling and messages were sent out to Tendulkar to not do anything stupid. Tendulkar defended till lunch but asked permission to play naturally in the afternoon session as he was uncomfortable playing the waiting game. In the three overs after lunch, he changed the complexion of the match with a calculated attack on the bowlers. His aggression rubbed off on the batsmen who followed.
"He turned the Bombay style of batting on its head," says Kenkre. "Before that, if you lofted the ball as a batsman, the coaches used to get upset about why you want to take the risk. But that is the beauty of Achrekar. He allowed Tendulkar to play that way."
As early as his first season with CCI, there were many across Bombay who believed Tendulkar would play for India. As Kenkre puts it, "Tendulkar could have played for any unknown club and still made it big, he was so good. From the first day, it was very clear that this guy was destined for greatness. Unless he messed it up himself."
Tendulkar and his bats
Like every top-class batsman, Sachin Tendulkar is particular about his
bats. Veteran cricket journalist Sunandan Lele, who has known him for 25
years, says: "One of Sachin's favourite pastimes is to switch on music,
put on his earphones, and sit with a bat in his hand, fiddling with its
grip or knocking on it with a mallet. He carries his own toolkit and if
he is on his own in a room, he is bound to be working on his bat like
it is some piece of art."
And the number of grips he would like to have.
A lot of fuss is made about cricket balls, but for a batsman, the right bat is like being comfortable in your own skin.
He has to see what the grain feels like.
But when you are a run-machine like Tendulkar, you can't prevent your bat from looking cherry-kissed.
There are times, however, when even legendary batsmen will happily trade their bat for a guitar. Tendulkar and his wife meet Dire Straits lead guitarist Mark Knopfler in Mumbai in 2005. Dire Straits was one of Tendulkar's favourite bands growing up.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Tendulkar's 200th Test set to be in Mumbai
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Sachin Tendulkar
is set to bid farewell to international cricket at the Wankhede Stadium
in Mumbai, his home ground. The news comes a day after Tendulkar
announced he will retire after his 200th Test, which is set to be the
second of the Tests against West Indies next month, to be played from
November 14.
"Tendulkar had expressed the wish yesterday that he wanted to play his
200th match at his home ground," Mumbai Cricket Association president
Ravi Savant said, "and the BCCI today acceded to his request and has
decided that the Test will be held at the Wankhede Stadium from November
14-18."
A final decision on the venue will be taken when the BCCI's tour, fixtures and programme committee meets on Tuesday.
It is understood that even before Tendulkar announced his retirement
plans, Kolkata's Eden Gardens had been promised it would get to host
Tendulkar's 200th Test. The deal is said to be a bargain for Cricket
Association of Bengal (CAB) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya pulling out of the
race to be the IPL chairman at the BCCI's annual general meeting on
September 29. However, according to CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey, CAB will
definitely "honour" Tendulkar's request.
"If Sachin has requested it, CAB won't unnecessarily push for staging the match and honour the legend's wish," Dey said.
The BCCI follows a rotation policy among its 10 Test venues for staging
matches. According to the rotation policy, Ahmedabad and Bangalore were
to host the next two matches. However, with the significance of these
two
Tests, the tour, fixtures and programme committee headed by BCCI
vice-president Rajiv Shukla may break the rotation policy and instead
award the two matches to Kolkata and Mumbai.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Sehwag must resist middle-order temptation
Despite his early history as a middle-order batsman,Virender Sehwag's request to finish his career there, rather than opening, may not necessarily be beneficial for him or the team.
For starters, Sehwag is ignoring his own advice. Heonce told the dashing young Australian opener David Warner he would eventually become a better Test player than a T20 batsman. Warner, playing for the aptly named Delhi Daredevils, seemed surprised at the suggestion and asked for his reasoning. "Because," replied Sehwag, "in a Test match the field is 'up' for the new ball and there are plenty of gaps to hit through."
That situation also means there are fewer infielders in position to take catches, and for a player like Sehwag, who hits the ball in the air regularly, that's a major consideration.
Then there's the not-so-minor matter of Sehwag setting the pattern of play at the top of the order. When you come in lower down, the rhythm of the innings is already established, and with a few wickets down, a batsman's approach may need to alter. He no longer starts on an equal footing with the bowlers.
Take the way Sehwag plays spinners, for example. In the past he has shown little respect for spinners and, upon their introduction, he has set about trying to drive them into oblivion via the farthest reaches of the grandstand. As an opener, when he has already pummelled the faster bowlers for a quick-fire 60 and got the team off to a flying start, Sehwag is afforded some leniency when he then holes out in the deep.
However, when Sehwag is dismissed in the middle order for a low score and sets off a batting collapse by attempting an outlandish onslaught on a spinner, it's likely to test the selectors' patience.
Sehwag will have to take these and other matters, like having to wait to bat, into account if he returns to the middle order. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of any experienced player looking to slide down the order is his mental state; such a request is generally an admission the player is starting to have misgivings.
Ricky Ponting made that mistake late in his career and his move was only minor, going from No. 3 to No. 4. Nevertheless, it was a major move mentally and sent a signal to the opposition that Ponting, for so long a dominant batsman, was feeling vulnerable.
Despite his early history as a middle-order batsman,Virender Sehwag's request to finish his career there, rather than opening, may not necessarily be beneficial for him or the team.
For starters, Sehwag is ignoring his own advice. Heonce told the dashing young Australian opener David Warner he would eventually become a better Test player than a T20 batsman. Warner, playing for the aptly named Delhi Daredevils, seemed surprised at the suggestion and asked for his reasoning. "Because," replied Sehwag, "in a Test match the field is 'up' for the new ball and there are plenty of gaps to hit through."
That situation also means there are fewer infielders in position to take catches, and for a player like Sehwag, who hits the ball in the air regularly, that's a major consideration.
Then there's the not-so-minor matter of Sehwag setting the pattern of play at the top of the order. When you come in lower down, the rhythm of the innings is already established, and with a few wickets down, a batsman's approach may need to alter. He no longer starts on an equal footing with the bowlers.
Take the way Sehwag plays spinners, for example. In the past he has shown little respect for spinners and, upon their introduction, he has set about trying to drive them into oblivion via the farthest reaches of the grandstand. As an opener, when he has already pummelled the faster bowlers for a quick-fire 60 and got the team off to a flying start, Sehwag is afforded some leniency when he then holes out in the deep.
However, when Sehwag is dismissed in the middle order for a low score and sets off a batting collapse by attempting an outlandish onslaught on a spinner, it's likely to test the selectors' patience.
Sehwag will have to take these and other matters, like having to wait to bat, into account if he returns to the middle order. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of any experienced player looking to slide down the order is his mental state; such a request is generally an admission the player is starting to have misgivings.
Ricky Ponting made that mistake late in his career and his move was only minor, going from No. 3 to No. 4. Nevertheless, it was a major move mentally and sent a signal to the opposition that Ponting, for so long a dominant batsman, was feeling vulnerable.
Like for Ponting, much of Sehwag's aura as a batsman is bound up in his aggressive approach to the bowling. Once that is diminished with a move down the order it's like being a wounded animal; the predators smell blood.
Sachin Tendulkar, on the other hand, has never wavered; he has batted at No. 4 for the bulk of his career and has remained resolute in not moving lower down the order. In his mind he's a No. 4 and that's the way he wants to finish his career.
Part of being a long-term Test player is knowing where you want to bat. The captain may not always see things the same way, but a batsman must be clear in his own mind what position he thinks suits him best. The Australian selectors of the time had the misguided idea that I should open, and skipper Bill Lawry asked me for my thoughts. I replied: "Bill, you're the captain and if you tell me I'm opening then I'll do it, but if you're asking for my preference then it's to bat at three." In my mind I was a No. 3 and I wanted to remain in that position until I retired.
There have been suggestions that India will need some experience in the middle order when Tendulkar retires, and that Sehwag may provide the answer. India already have plenty of talent and not inconsiderable experience in Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.
That makes a strong top four when Tendulkar decides to retire. To then replace a middle-order player in his 40s with one in his mid-30s, who is struggling as an opener, doesn't sound like a progressive move.
Cricket fixtures
Oct 2013
| |||
Wed Oct 9
| |||
| 03:30 GMT | 09:30 Local 09:00 IST | Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chittagong, 1st Test - | ||
| 13:00 GMT | 09:00 Local 18:30 IST | West Indies Under-19s v Bangladesh Under-19s at Georgetown, 2nd ODI | ||
Thu Oct 10
| |||
| 03:30 GMT | 09:30 Local 09:00 IST | Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chittagong, 1st Test - | ||
| 14:00 GMT | 19:30 Local | India v Australia at Rajkot, Only T20I | ||
| 14:00 GMT | 09:00 Local 19:30 IST | West Indies Women v New Zealand Womenat Kingston, 3rd ODI | ||
Fri Oct 11
| |||
| 03:30 GMT | 09:30 Local 09:00 IST | Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chittagong, 1st Test - | ||
| 15:00 GMT | 19:00 Local 20:30 IST | Afghanistan v Kenya at Sharjah, 2nd T20I | ||
| 17:30 GMT | 13:30 Local 23:00 IST | West Indies Under-19s v Bangladesh Under-19s at Providence, 3rd ODI | ||
Sat Oct 12
| |||
| 03:30 GMT | 09:30 Local 09:00 IST | Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chittagong, 1st Test - | ||
Sun Oct 13
| |||
| 03:30 GMT | 09:30 Local 09:00 IST | Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chittagong, 1st Test - | ||
| 08:00 GMT | 13:30 Local | India v Australia at Pune, 1st ODI | ||
Mon Oct 14
| |||
| 06:00 GMT | 10:00 Local 11:30 IST | South Africa v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, 1st Test - | ||
| 13:00 GMT | 09:00 Local 18:30 IST | West Indies Under-19s v Bangladesh Under-19s at Georgetown, 4th ODI | ||
| 17:00 GMT | 13:00 Local 22:30 IST | West Indies Women v New Zealand Womenat Bridgetown, West Indies Tri-Nation Twenty20 Women's Series | ||
Tue Oct 15
| |||
| 06:00 GMT | 10:00 Local 11:30 IST | South Africa v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, 1st Test - | ||
Wed Oct 16
| |||
| 06:00 GMT | 10:00 Local 11:30 IST | South Africa v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, 1st Test - | ||
| 08:00 GMT | 13:30 Local | India v Australia at Jaipur, 2nd ODI | ||
| 17:00 GMT | 13:00 Local 22:30 IST | England Women v New Zealand Women at Bridgetown, West Indies Tri-Nation Twenty20 Women's Series | ||
| 17:30 GMT | 13:30 Local 23:00 IST | West Indies Under-19s v Bangladesh Under-19s at Providence, 5th ODI | ||
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